Association between Perceived Social Support and Academic Performance in Public Sector Universities of Lahore, Pakistan

Social support is considered to be an important element in a person’s life. The present research was designed to investigate the relationship between perceived social support and academic performance for the students of undergraduate programs in public sector universities in Lahore. Sample size was determined through use of a sampling formula. A sample of 400 students was collected through multistage random sampling from four universities of different categories. Berlin Scale of Social Support (BSSS) was used to measure social support that a student perceives. For the measurement of students’ academic performance, Cumulative Grade point average (CGPA) was recorded. The data was statistically analyzed through Pearson’s correlation coefficient test. The results indicated significant association between perceived instrumental support and the perception of need that a person feels for gaining social support. Negative correlation was found between students’ overall perception of social support along with perceived emotional support and their academic performance